Inter Milan remained one of the teams with a perfect record after defeating Kairat 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Erling Haaland continued his scoring streak in Manchester City’s 4-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund at Club Brugge.
Last year’s runners-up Inter, with goals from Lautaro Martínez and Carlos Augusto in each half, joined Bayern Munich and Arsenal as the only teams to reach the halfway point in the league with four wins from four games.
Kazakh club Kairat, who remain among the teams without a win in the league, equalized with Ofri Arad early in the second half, before Augusto sealed the victory for the hosts.
“We knew we had to win the first four games and we did it,” Inter defender Federico Dimarco said. “We have to think game by game. Every game in the Champions League is tough.”
Barcelona came from behind to win three times after a draw with Club Brugge, with Lamine Yamal playing a decisive role in the team’s comeback in Belgium. He scored in the 61st minute, and in the 77th minute his shot led to an own goal by Club Brugge midfielder Christos Tzoris, making the score 3-3.
Phil Foden scored twice for Man City, with Haaland scoring his 27th goal in 17 games for club and country this season. He has scored in five consecutive Champions League games for three different clubs, with goals also coming his way in Salzburg and Dortmund.
“Every time I come to the press conference, they give him a new record,” Man City manager Josep Guardiola said.
The Norwegian striker has scored 14 goals in his last nine games. He has only failed to score in a game twice this season.
Benfica, coached by Jose Mourinho, lost 1-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen, making it their fourth straight league defeat. Ajax also lost 3-0 at home to 9th place Galatasaray, making it their fourth consecutive loss. Victor Osimhen completed his hat-trick with two penalties, giving the visitors six goals, ahead of Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, who each had five goals.
Ajax have won one of their last seven games across the tournament.
Newcastle beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at St James’ Park with goals from Dan Byrne and Joelinton, moving into sixth place with a third successive win and consecutive clean sheets.
Atalanta won 1-0 against Marseille with a goal from Lazar Samardzic in the 90th minute. Atalanta’s Charles de Quetelaere missed a penalty in the 14th minute.
In the opening games, Chelsea drew 2-2 against Qarabag, while Paphos achieved their first league win by defeating Spain’s Villarreal 1-0 at home in Cyprus.
man city cruise
Foden scored twice and Haaland added another, Waldemar Anton scored for Dortmund and substitute Rayan Cherki scored for City.
Foden’s goals came low into the corners in each half. Intensified calls for a recall in the UK When Thomas Tuchel names his squad this week.
It was City’s third win in the league, following a 2-2 draw with Monaco. Dortmund were aiming for their third victory.
“We’re in a good position for the next game against Leverkusen. If we can get one or two more wins we’ll probably be closer to a top-eight finish,” Guardiola said.
barcelona stumbles
Carlos Forbes scored twice in Club Brugge’s home draw against Barcelona.
Club Brugge thought they had scored the winning goal in stoppage time due to a blunder by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, but the referee called for a foul as the goalkeeper lost the ball inside the area.
Fermin López, Jules Kounde and Eric García all played for Barcelona.
Barcelona had already lost at home to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, but avoided another defeat. We won against Newcastle and Olympiakos.
“We can do better,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “A 3-3 draw was not a good result, but we came from behind to win.”
Club Brugge had two losses and one win.
Chelsea held
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a second-half goal as Chelsea equalized with Qarabag.
Chelsea’s man of the match Estevao opened the scoring in the 16th minute, but the Azerbaijan hosts hit back with a Leandro Andrade goal in the 29th minute and a Marko Jankovic penalty in the 39th minute.
Garnacho scored in the 53rd minute for Chelsea’s wins over Ajax and Benfica after opening the Champions League with a loss to leaders Bayern Munich.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said: “We conceded a stupid goal. We need to be especially careful from now on.”
Calabag have seven points from four games, winning their first two games but losing 3-1 against Athletic Bilbao.
Paphos historic victory
In the other early game, newcomers Paphos defeated Spain’s Villarreal 1-0 at home in Cyprus, earning their first league win.
“This was a historic victory for the club and for Paphos,” said defender David Golder. “Every year we grow and improve, and we hope that continues for a long time. We’ve built something special here, but we also have to stay humble.”
In previous matches, Paphos lost 1-5 at home to Bayern and drew 0-0 in Kairat and Olympiakos.
Villarreal returned to the Champions League for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in 2022, but remain winless after four games. They won three consecutive games in the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
